Undergraduate Course: Applications of Finance (BUST08018)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course will consolidate the conceptual learning in Principles of Finance by introducing students to some of the practical aspects of finance, for example valuation, company risk management and company restructuring. |
| Course description |
The course is designed to complement Principles of Finance 2. The latter is a theoretical and conceptual course which introduces students to the core ideas in academic finance. There is little time to consider practical aspects, and several important topics are omitted or only dealt with briefly. Applications of Finance will fill some of these gaps. The course will consolidate the conceptual learning in Principles of Finance by introducing students to some of the practical aspects of finance, for example valuation, company risk management and company restructuring.
SYLLABUS
- Financial systems, corporate governance and the investment environment;
- Professional asset management - fund structures, strategies and key issues;
- Trading;
- Currency markets and futures;
- Interest rate and currency swaps;
- Options and trading strategies;
- Socially responsible investing, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility;
- Financial crises and investment management.
STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Broadening knowledge of core concepts and ideas in finance, in particular in the areas of international finance, investment management, and risk management; introduction to empirical research in finance;
further knowledge of financial instruments, markets and transactions; for example, interest rate swaps, bank loans; further knowledge of financial information used by company executives, investors and analysts.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Equivalent to Principles of Finance 2.
Visiting students should usually have at least 1 introductory level Business/Finance course at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8,
Formative Assessment Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
164 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
There will be two components of assessment - groupwork, including a group report of 5,000 words maximum and peer evaluation (30%), and a final examination (70%). Further details regarding assessment will be decided upon by the course organiser. |
| Feedback |
Coursework marks will be published via Learn. Students can also look at their group¿s feedback in the Undergraduate Office (Room 1.11, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place) and take away a copy of the feedback form
Examination marks will be posted on Learn (together with generic feedback and examination statistics) as soon as possible after the Boards of Examiners¿ meeting (normally early-mid June). During the summer months (i.e. mid/end June ¿ end August), students may come in to the UG Office to look at examination scripts. Continuing students will also be given the opportunity to review their examination scripts early in the new academic year in Semester 1 (i.e. in October).
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:30 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | | 2:30 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and discuss core concepts and ideas in finance, in particular in the areas of international finance, mergers and acquisitions, company risk management, and valuation of companies.
- Understand and discuss empirical research in finance.
- Understand and explain financial instruments, markets and transactions; for example, interest rate swaps, takeover arrangements, bank loans.
- Explain and discuss how financial information used by company executives, investors and analysts, and techniques for analysing such information.
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Reading List
This course builds heavily on academic research papers. Therefore, there is no textbook which is recommended that students buy. Instead, students are advised to do the reading as listed under each topic.
Students may find the following textbooks useful for general background reading (any edition will be suitable)
Keith Pilbeam, Finance & Financial Markets, Palgrave Macmillan.
Bodie, Kane and Marcus (2010), Investments, McGraw Hill.
Maginn, Tuttle, Pinto, and McLeavey (2007) Managing Investment Portfolios: A Dynamic Process, published by CFA Institute and Wiley. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive/analytical skills/transferable skills
Through individual and groupwork students will develop their ability to:
Understand accounting and financial data, and analyse such data;
Understand academic research in finance;
Demonstrate their understanding through essays and through answers to numerical problems;
Think clearly and logically;
Develop and deliver effective presentations. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Alistair Haig
Tel: (0131 6)51 5317
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Caroline Hall
Tel: (0131 6)50 8336
Email: |
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